Ruis continues development path in Columbia Falls

Developer Mick Ruis has proposed another redevelopment project in downtown Columbia Falls, this time a three-story, 18-unit apartment building on the site of the former Davall Building at the corner of Fifth Street and First Avenue West.

Ruis Holdings is asking for a planned-unit development for the building that would allow apartments on the first floor rather than commercial uses. Ruis also is asking for a 40-feet height allowance for the building, a variance from the city’s 35-foot standard building height.

The property is zoned for central business, which allows mixed-use buildings including multifamily apartments on the second and third floors.

The Columbia Falls Planning Board will hold a public hearing at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 11, to consider the request. The board meets at City Hall, 130 Sixth St. W. in Columbia Falls.

Ruis, who lived in Columbia Falls for many years and later became a successful contractor in San Diego in the late 1990s, has been on a steady path to improve the city’s downtown sector. Most recently he purchased the Bandit Bar on Nucleus Avenue and plans to reopen the business as a sports bar and steakhouse within a few months. He also plans to restore the building.

Ruis currently is building an eight-room, mixed-use building next to the Columbia Bar on Nucleus Avenue that should be finished this fall.

In recent years he remodeled the former Park Merc building on Nucleus Avenue that now houses three businesses. He also remodeled the former Kaplan Law Office Building.

One of Ruis’ biggest projects was building the $7 million Cedar Creek Lodge and Convention Center, which he sold to Xanterra Parks and Resorts earlier this year. The three-story, 64-room hotel was the first sizable lodging facility to be built in Columbia Falls.

Ruis also owns the former First Citizens Bank building that was converted into a community center operated for a time by the First Best Place nonprofit group. Ruis hasn’t yet revealed plans for the landmark bank building in downtown Columbia Falls.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.